Sahara India chief Subrata Roy's 'doosra' ending the corporate group's 11-year-old sponsorship ties with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and pulling out of the forthcoming IPL tournament by relinquishing the Pune Warriors ownership on Saturday stumped the nation's sovereign cricketing body.

In a clear indication that all was not hunky-dory between the Sahara India Group and BCCI, Roy waited till the proverbial eleventh hour of the IPL 5 auction to hit out at the board's 'onesided and arbitrary attitude'.

The announcement of the dramatic pullout, which understandably overshadowed the players' auction, came through an email to the media organisations at 10.01 am on Saturday and shook the very foundations of the cricket frat which had gathered in Bangalore for the IPL auction event.

The negotiations between Roy, an emotional decision-maker who prefers to be called the Sahara Group's 'managing worker', and cricket board president N. Srinivasan had broken down late on Friday. Backchannel confabulations between IPL commissioner Rajeev Shukla and Saharaowned Pune Warriors pointsman Abhijit Sarkar also came to naught around the same time.

A miffed and angry Roy called in his top comrades, led by Sarkar, and announced to them that he wanted to sever all links with the BCCI, including giving up the ownership of Pune Warriors in the IPL. Sarkar then put together a press note which, once vetted by Roy, was sent off on Saturday morning.

Over 11 years, Sahara had assisted the
BCCI as team jersey sponsor with approximately Rs650 crore. Only in the
past couple of years has the needle moved up radically on the
sponsorship fee per match. In 2010, for instance, India played 48
international matches (Tests, one-dayers and T20s) and Sahara forked out
Rs3.34 crore per game, which translates into Rs160 crore. Last year,
India played 50 international matches and the board raked in Rs167
crore.

Denied: Pune was denied permission to add an absent Yuvraj Singh's price into the auction purse

The Sahara press note was quick to focus on the 'one-sided emotional relationship that cannot be dragged any further'.

The break point was apparently reached over Pune Warriors captain Yuvraj Singh. An inflexible board did not relent. Sahara insisted that since their marquee player's medical condition did not allow him to play, his price of $1.8 million (Rs8.8 crore) be allowed to be added to the auction purse.

Roy reminded Srinivasan that a similar door had been left open for Mumbai Indians in Champions League 2011, where 'out of natural justice' the team was allowed to use an extra foreigner.

This leniency needed to be shown to Pune Warriors as part of a uniform process, the Sahara release added. But the cricket board mavens didn't bat an eyelid. In this eyeball-toeyeball confrontation, a furious Roy blinked first and called off the whole ball of wax. The doosra from Sahara flummoxed the board, leaving it rudderless.

So, it is not that the team jersey worn by the Men In Blue goes vacant, starting with Sunday's first tri-series match. Sahara, realising that it would create complications for the national team, has decided to continue over the next couple of months, 'till such time a new sponsor is found' by the board. Incidentally, the last time the BCCI had put out a tender for the team jersey, it failed abysmally with no one turning up. Ultimately, the BCCI had to come scurrying back to Sahara, with whom it renegotiated at `3.34 crore per international match till December 31, 2013.

Both Sahara Pune Warriors and the
Kochi franchise have had a running battle with the BCCI over various
issues ever since they were roped in as new franchises. Sahara coughed
up a humungous $370 million for the Pune Warriors. Against 94 matches
first prognosticated, IPL 4 saw only 74 matches being played. It was a
bone of contention with Sahara, since it had calculated the bid money on
the basis of the number of matches.

Further,
Sahara wanted an open auction of all players after IPL 3 and was
insistent that the retention of players should not be allowed. What has
been simmering since then manifested in Roy's emotion-induced
cold-blooded decision late on Friday.

'Now after an 11-year journey as sponsors, we can say with surety that cricket has become very rich. Many rich people are there to support cricket with a strong will. So, with absolute peace of mind, we can exit from cricket under BCCI… and are now exiting with a heavy heart.

'It was an emotional decision for us to start this sponsorship but our emotions were never appreciated and many genuine situations were not given due consideration at all,' the release, signed by Roy's son and Sahara Adventure Sports Limited managing director Sushanto, stated.

Later in the day, Roy himself addressed a
press conference in Mumbai. 'The decision we took to end ties was not a
bad one at all. We had enough of it. Any relationship does not break on
one single issue only. It has to do with many issues and has happened
continuously,' he said.

Asked for his reaction, BCCI official and IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla seemed to be in denial. He repeatedly stated: 'It is unfortunate. But we haven't received anything in writing from them officially. We heard about it only through a media release. (Regarding sponsorship)…We will have a discussion with Sahara India. If they insist on doing that (pulling out), we will forward it to the BCCI marketing committee, which will look into the matter.'

Board secretary Sanjay Jagdale issued a release, rubbishing the claims of favouritism. 'We intend to contact Sahara Adventure Sports Limited as soon as practicable to clarify its intentions… The BCCI cherishes its relationship with all the IPL franchises. The rules are applicable to all of them,' it stated.

The Pune Warriors players were in a state of shock. 'They've really left us with nowhere to go. Not only are our financial futures in doubt, but every player wants to play,' a player said.

However, Sahara has promised to take care of the players - at least money-wise - this year. 'The players, coaches and other associates will definitely get their dues in case they do not get a chance to play,' its release stated.